Arab Cooperation
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CHAPTER 8 Arab cooperation This chapter concludes the Report with a dis- and national security. cussion of the important issue of Arab cooper- While many Arab regional institutions ation. It summarizes the rationale for exist, they are characterized by fragility and in- cooperation, including the enduring and new effectiveness, and national considerations take challenges countries face as they enter the precedence over wider regional ones, leading twenty-first century, challenges that countries to disregard of wider Arab interests. are poorly equipped to meet on their own. It Moreover, even if national interests were to describes the main institutions for Arab coop- converge rather than conflict, the fact that too eration, examines the past history and current many regimes cater to powerful entrenched in- status of cooperation, suggests that achieve- terest groups means that there is no guarantee ments have been far from commensurate with that they would serve the wider public good. the institutional and organizational structures The international and economic environ- elaborated over the past half century or more, ment of the twenty-first century will pose un- and offers reasons for the lack of dramatic suc- precedented challenges to Arab countries. cesses. However, it also notes some areas International cooperation is intensifying and where progress has been made, including with economic success is increasingly dependent on respect to aspects of human development. The knowledge acquisition and ICT, as discussed in chapter concludes with a recapitulation of the chapter 5. Meanwhile, the successive rounds of Arab countries external and internal challenges countries face, trade liberalization under the umbrella of the continue to face the and argues that increased cooperation is both General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade feasible (given the necessary commitment and (GATT) and WTO, burgeoning international outside world, and the political will) because the institutional base al- investment flows, and rapid technological ad- challenges posed by ready exists and essential to strengthen the vances have together led to dramatic changes in the region itself, processes and meet the goals of human devel- global trade and capital flows. In addition, as opment. the role of multinational corporations has individually and alone. grown, that of the state has declined. The last THE RATIONALE FOR ARAB decades of the twentieth century also saw the COOPERATION rise of massive trading blocs such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Perhaps no other group of states in the world the expanding European Union and Asia- has been endowed with the same potential for Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). cooperation, even integration, as have the Arab These developments are defining the fac- countries. Nevertheless, while much of the rest tors on which the future of Arab countries will of the world is moving towards coming to- largely depend. These factors include their gether in larger groupings—especially in ability to (a) deal with structural problems and today’s world of globalization and increased in- technological change; (b) meet the challenges ternational competition—Arab countries con- of globalization (including its sometimes nega- tinue to face the outside world and the tive effects) and economic openness; and (c) challenges posed by the region itself, individu- generate effective collective action to face new ally and alone. By so doing, they are failing to developments and the challenges they pose to capitalize on the benefits that close cooperation governments, businesses, investors, workers, can yield in the fields of human development political parties and institutions. ARAB COOPERATION 121 THE CURRENT STATUS OF JOINT of a number of agreements that have included ARAB ACTION all or some of the Arab States. Among the most important agreements are the Joint Since their independence, the subject of coop- Defense and Economic Cooperation eration among the Arab States has been at the Agreement (1950) and the Economic Unity centre of discussion at various official and na- Agreement (1957). One of the League’s ob- tional levels, reflecting their common bonds in jectives has been to ensure free movement of terms of language, civilization, history, geo- capital, goods and people, and to ensure the The argument for Arab graphic contiguity and ease of communica- right of the latter to work and to own prop- cooperation revolves tion. Many formulas have been proposed and erty. Other agreements include the resolution around the need for tried for Arab cooperation in the economic, to form the Arab Common Market (1965), the political, social and cultural spheres. Likewise, Arab Cultural Unity Agreement (1964), the an economic and various levels of cooperation have been pro- Strategy for Joint Arab Economic Action social group with a posed, including the bilateral, the multilateral (1980), the Joint National Economic Action on the basis of geographic proximity, the offi- Covenant (1980), the Convention to Facilitate cooperative, cial, the national and the regional. A typical and Develop Trade Exchanges among the innovative policy example of the latter is the League of Arab Arab States (1981), the Standard Convention States, one of the earliest regional experiments for the Investment of Capital in the Arab designed to fulfil a in the world, which was set up in 1945, thus States (1981), and the Arab Free Trade Area comprehensive predating almost all other regional organiza- (1997). tions, and which has spent more than half a These various efforts have been under- agenda for broad- century in uninterrupted efforts towards the taken within an institutional structure that based social and realization of Arab cooperation. While the served as a framework for joint Arab action Arab League has been able to lay the founda- and comprised the Arab League Council, the economic renewal. tions for joint Arab action through a large Economic and Social Council, and the number of frameworks, institutions, Council for Arab Economic Unity, in addition covenants, agreements and resolutions, these to a very large number of other governmental efforts have remained only partially imple- and non-governmental organs set up to man- mented. This explains the League’s limited age the functional roles and operations in- practical effectiveness in comparison to the volved in Arab cooperation. Too often, European Union. however, these efforts have failed to adopt a The League has facilitated the ratification well-defined conceptual frame of reference for human development, relying instead on devel- BOX 8.1 oping institutional frameworks. Nevertheless, Working together: once a dream, today a necessity the coverage of these frameworks encom- No Arab country alone can adequately end, they need to formulate a common passes an impressive range of areas relevant to achieve dramatic social and economic perspective and to set up realistic com- human development, including health, educa- progress based on diversification of mon goals and effective institutions capa- sources of income and acquisition of com- ble of attaining those goals so as to tion, culture, training, environment, jobs and petitive capabilities in the fields of accu- improve the outcomes of their economic the fight against unemployment and poverty-- mulated knowledge and industry. and societal efforts along with their com- all of which are relevant to comprehensive However, by coming together, Arab coun- petitive edge in the world. economic and social development and to tries can reap the benefits of size and scale, The argument for Arab cooperation diversify their combined economies, and revolves around the need for an economic building the human capabilities and raising open up opportunities for investment that and social group with a cooperative, inno- the standards of living of all Arabs. would be unavailable in the absence of co- vative policy designed to fulfil a compre- ordinated efforts and cooperation. In ad- hensive agenda for broad-based social and dition, acting as a group will empower the economic renewal. This endeavour Arabs and allows them to secure rights should go beyond setting up an efficacious and legal claims in international agree- economic programme, or even adopting a THE INSTITUTIONAL ments, which are inevitably affected by the system of government programmes. It FRAMEWORK FOR JOINT ARAB negotiating powers of the parties con- should also include working towards mu- ACTION cerned. More generally, Arab countries tual understanding, assistance and coop- need to agree among themselves about eration, together with a clear strategy that what they need to do in order to take their allows all strata of society to work together The Arab States are well-supplied with joint place in the new World Order. To this as partners. institutions designed to secure and enhance 122 ARAB HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2002 cooperation and coordination in the political, BOX 8.2 Cooperative institutions: a diverse set of actors security, economic, social and cultural fields. In spite of the modest returns on Arab co- the Gulf Cooperation Council has all the Conceptually, these can be divided into gov- operation compared to the efforts spent ingredients for successful cooperation and ernmental and non-governmental bodies. and the hoped-for benefits, progress has coordination among the members (i.e., an The governmental institutional framework been made through the establishment of abundance of financial resources